


mistletoe

by westofmoon



Series: Rowaelin winter drabbles [6]
Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Christmas Party, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mistletoe, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, Snowed In, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:21:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21840430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westofmoon/pseuds/westofmoon
Summary: "How much more obvious do I have to be exactly?"Days 5 and 9 of my 17 days of Rowaelin Drabbles.
Relationships: Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien & Rowan Whitethorn, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien/Rowan Whitethorn, Rowaelin - Relationship
Series: Rowaelin winter drabbles [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543741
Kudos: 38





	1. mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Parts 1 and 2 posted together.
> 
> Day 5.

It was the final party on campus before everyone packed up and went home for the holidays, and it was sure to be one that everyone would still be talking about when they returned. The music was loud and the drinks were flowing. 

And Rowan Whitethorn was buzzing, but not from the whiskey. 

Aelin Galathynius was currently pressed up against his side, a wide grin on her stunning face as she laughed at whatever challenge Elide and Lysandra had just thrown her way as she prepared to take her turn at the game of holiday beer pong they were playing. The sight of that smile, the sound of that laugh, the feel of her skin on his and the scent of her jasmine shampoo was nearly driving him insane. Everything about her was intoxicating and he was happily drunk on her.

He had been in love with her for longer than he cared to admit, despite the rough start to their friendship. And while he knew that she cared about him, a lot in fact, he wasn’t sure if it would ever be as more than just her best friend.

Aelin placed a hand on his thigh as she pushed herself to her feet, her other hand rising to push a few loose strands of her golden hair behind an ears. She glanced back at him where he sat, turquoise and gold eyes bright with joy, cheeks flushed from the warmth in the room and the drink, and Rowan’s stomach gave a flip. 

A conspiratorial grin spread across her face and she turned back towards the table to take her turn. She leaned forward to grab a ping pong ball and the movement drew his attention to her backside, those tight-as-sin jeans she was wearing hugging her curves in a way that had him sitting up a little straighter in his seat. Rowan was unable to tear his eyes away, away from the little flash of skin at the small of her back as her shirt rode up, almost as if she were teasing him. Rowan swallowed hard and shifted again. 

Aelin took aim and threw, the little ball soared through the air to land in the single remaining cup at the other end of the table. Elide and Lysandra both bemoaned their defeat as Aelin _woop_ ed in triumph. 

Doing a little victory dance, Aelin spun on her toes, flopping backwards towards the seat next to his. But instead of landing where she intended, she landed squarely in Rowan’s lap with a giddy squeal. 

Rowan let out a strangled gasp, his entire body lurched in surprise at the sudden weight of her on top of him. He was so startled that he lost his grip on his cup and whiskey sloshed down the front of his shirt and jeans. Some of it even splashed onto Aelin herself as she spun around on his lap. He leapt up out of his seat, bringing Aelin with him and setting her on her feet. 

“Oh gods, Rowan, I’m sorry!” Aelin cried, reaching towards him as if to help, but then she pulled her hands back to herself hesitantly. 

He sighed, “It’s alright.” It was just going to be an even colder walk than expected back to his dorm. 

But then Aelin small hand closed around his, tugging slightly. “Come with me,” she told him, pulling him along behind her as she made her way into the kitchen, grabbing some napkins and paper towels. She tried to help him dry himself off, but all of the touching was only serving to make him more flustered. 

So Rowan took over, and Aelin’s expression fell as he brushed her hands away. He could have sworn that she seemed almost disappointed. 

“I’m really sorry, Ro,” she apologized again, mouth twisted in a pout. 

“It’s okay, really,“ he assured her, with a smile. "I promise I’m not-” 

“Oh look!” she cut him off excitedly. “Mistletoe!” 

He blinked, taking a moment to process the word. “What?” 

“There’s mistletoe above us,” she giggled, pointing above his head. 

Rowan followed her finger and sure enough, above his head was a little sprig of green leaves and small white berries hanging by a little red ribbon. It was like it was taunting him, and he could only stare at it dumbly for several moments, feeling his heartbeat start to race. 

There was no way she had pointed out the mistletoe because she actually _wanted_ him to kiss her, like his foolish heart wanted to believe. But his prolonged silence was becoming awkward as she looked at him with expectant amusement in her eyes. So he said the first, admittedly stupid, thing that popped into his head. "You know that stuff is poisonous, right?”

Aelin made a face. “Why are you always such a spoil sport, Whitethorn?" 

He snorted, glancing down at her. "Well, if you want to kiss someone under a poisonous plant I certainly won’t stop-” his words cut off as Aelin grabbed his face and yanked him down to crash her lips to his. 

His eyes widened as her soft lips moved against his, her hands moving from his face around to the back of his neck, fingers weaving into his hair to pull him closer. Everywhere they touched felt like his skin was set a flame. Rowan was so shocked he could barely move. Somehow his hands came to rest on her waist and his eyes slowly fluttered closed. 

Rowan knew he should stop this, knew he should pull away because she would regret this when she was sober. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

And then her tongue traced his bottom lip and he parted for her, and when her tongue slipped into his mouth to brush against his… 

His arms wrapped around her body, crushing her against him, pulling her _closerclosecloser_. Aelin moaned into his mouth and that was the end of everything. 

The spilled drink, the wet clothes. They were forgotten as their hands explored each others body, tangling in each other’s hair. Suddenly, Rowan found himself stumbling down a hallway, laughing against Aelin’s lips as they fell into walls and doors, unable to stop kissing for the length of time it would take to simply walk down the hall. 

She shoved him into an empty bedroom and kicked the door closed behind them as her hands went to his shirt, yanking it up up up over his head. Her shirt followed a heartbeat later as they tumbled onto the bed, Aelin brining him down on top of her. 

Rowan gasped at the touch of her hands on his bare skin, her fingers tracing the planes and grooves of his abdomen and chest, and she arched into each of his own touches, as his hands traveled along her back, across her waist, up her stomach.

Aelin tilted her head back, baring her neck as his lips trailed down her throat, a breathy sigh falling past her lips, “Rowan…" 

The sound sent a thrill down his spine, warmth pooling in his stomach, and his drink loosened lips moved of their own accord. "I love you,” he breathed against her skin. 

Both of them instantly froze. 

Slowly Rowan pulled back, gazing down at her. 

“What?” she asked breathlessly.

Oh gods. _Oh gods_. Every bit of fire in his veins snuffed out in an instant, replaced by cold terror. “I-,” he tried, backing further away from her. “I didn’t…” What had he done? He had just ruined everything. Stupid stupid _stupid_. 

There was such a strange look on her face, in her eyes as she looked up at him. “Rowan,” she lifted a hand, reaching for him.

And Rowan stumbled back off of the bed, snatching his shirt off of the floor and yanking it back on. “I have to go,” was all he could say before he ran out of the room. Leaving Aelin sitting there in the center of the bed, staring after him.


	2. snowed in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Parts 1 and 2 posted together
> 
> Day 9

They had been planning this trip for months; a friends getaway to one of the Galathynius’ family cabins up in the Staghorns for Hogmanay and New Years. They had pre-booked rooms at an inn along the way, a necessary stop on the nearly two-day drive up to the cabin.

Aelin had been looking forward to it ever since they had decided on it. But now, it had become more of a means to distract herself and take her mind off of everything. The stress from the holiday, the impending return to school… and off of Rowan Whitethorn. Off of how he had literally blurted out that he loved her and then bolted from the room like a startled deer. And how he had been avoiding her like the plague ever since.

He had cancelled on the trip, calling Aedion to say that something had come up and he couldn’t make it. Both of which had made her feel even worse, the fact that it was obviously an excuse, and the fact that he had called her cousin instead of _her_. And it pissed her off. 

Was he really that dense? Was he that big of an idiot that he didn’t get it?

Well. At least there was _one_ positive thing that had come from that Yulemas party over a week ago. Thanks to some ‘relationship’ developments with some of their other friends, bunkmates for the nightly stop had been rearranged, and Aelin was now blessed with a room all to herself. And a huge bed that she could just barely reach across, even if she stretched out her arms and legs as far as she possibly could.

Still, Aelin felt hollow. An ache in her chest that only her missing best friend could sooth.

Just before nightfall, the gentle snow fall that had persisted all day turned into a storm. In a matter of minutes everything was covered in a thick layer of white. And they were all growing worried about how it would affect the second half of their trip the next day. 

But with the storm came a familiar black truck pulling up to the inn. Rowan.

He looked nervous as he approached them, saying that he felt terrible about backing out at the last minute and had decided to come after all. But when he had learned that there were no other vacant rooms available and the only one of them with room for him to stay was Aelin, he had paled.

The bastard had the audacity to suggest going back down the road to another motel that he had passed to find a room for the night, offering to catch up with them the next day. But a look from Aelin, and the fact that the roads were now too dangerous to travel on, shut that idiocy down very quickly. And the power in the building going out minutes later, thanks to the blizzard raging outside, also didn’t hurt the argument either. 

Once they returned to their room, Rowan had started a debate over where he would sleep for the night, insisting that he sleep on the floor. Aelin had called him a stubborn idiot and told him the bed was huge, and there was plenty of room. 

In the end, she had won the argument, thanks in no small part to the lack of electricity, and subsequently heat, so the warm bed was necessary over the cold floor.

Aelin ducked into the bathroom to change, using her phone flashlight to see. As she got ready for bed, she was practically breathing fire. Was he really, _really_ that oblivious that he couldn’t tell how she felt? She had thought she had made it obvious from the start, but apparently the buzzard didn’t know how to take a damn hint. So as she pulled on her nightgown, she decided she was just going to have to nudge him along for a little bit longer.

When she stepped back out into the room, Rowan was already settled in bed. He glanced over at her and his green eyes went wide as he sat bolt upright. “What is that?” he stammered slightly, his face turning a brilliant shade of crimson that was visible even in the dim light. 

Aelin glanced down at herself, at the shimmering, metallic gold silk that clung to her figure and left little to the imagination. “Festive, isn’t it?” she asked innocently, a coy smile tugging at her lips as she fiddled with the lace around the hem, sauntering over to the bed.

“Aren’t you cold?” he asked incredulously, struggling to keep his gaze from drifting below her shoulders.

“Nope.” It was an outright lie, but still she grinned, crawling into bed _much_ closer than necessary given the large mattress and Rowan tensed. “Good night, Rowan,” she said sweetly, settling down under the blankets.

She could still feel his eyes on her, feel the heat radiating off of him. Gods, who needed electric heat to keep them warm when Rowan was practically a furnace all on his own?

Smirking to herself, Aelin shifted so that her arm brushed against his, partially to mess with him some more, but mostly because she was, in fact, quite cold and wanted to leach his warmth. But a heartbeat later, he eased his arm away from hers, trying to keep the movement from seeming deliberate.

Aelin waited a full minute before she moved again, this time letting her bare leg touch his. Again, he scooted a little further away. 

Each time she inched closer, Rowan inched further away. She knew he was aware she was doing it on purpose by now, but it wasn’t going to stop her. He was nearly hanging off of the side of the bed by the time he had finally had enough. 

Rowan jumped up, groaning in frustration, and glowered at her. “Will you please stop?”

“No,” she replied stubbornly.

“Why are you doing this?” he demanded, his tone pained and full of desperation. She was pleased to see that his face was beet red.

Aelin sat up and crossed her arms over her chest. “Because I’m tired of waiting for _you_ to take a damn hint! How much more obvious do I have to be exactly?”

“Obvious about _what_?”

Gods, this infuriating man! Growling, Aelin rose onto her knees and grabbed his shirt collar, yanking him down to her to kiss him thoroughly. When she broke away, they were both breathing hard. Her skin felt hot, and it was like every part of her had been lit on fire, she was warm and tingling from her fingertips to her toes and everywhere in between. 

“Before you realize that I’m in love with you, too, you dumb buzzard,” she murmured against his lips. 

She heard his breath catch in his chest. “What?” he rasped. 

Aelin smiled. “I’m in love with you.”

Those green eyes she loved so much widened. “You love me?” he asked in disbelief, fingers curling against her sides.

Had he really not known? Had he truly no idea? 

She nodded, smiling up at him. “I have been for a while actually. I’ve been trying to get you to notice forever, and then at the party, I finally did something about it. And then you said you loved me, but you tore out of there without giving me a chance to respond.”

Rowan stared at her, his lips parting in shock, unsure of what to say. “Oh,” he finally breathed softly. “ _Oh_.”

“Did,” she glanced up at him hesitantly. “Did you mean it? It wasn’t just because you were drunk?” It was a fear that had hung over her since that night.

Rowan shook his head. “I wasn’t drunk,” he murmured. “And of course I meant it.” His voice was breathless, his accent more lilting than usual. “How could I not love you?”

Her throat tightened. “Then tell me again,” she requested softly, tugging him down with her as she laid back onto the bed again. She wanted, needed, to hear it again. Had wanted to hear those words from his lips for so long. 

A little smirk curled up the corners of his mouth. “I love you, Aelin.”

“Good,” she grinned up at him. “So, buzzard, are you going to finish what you started?”

His kiss was answer enough. 

And as the night went on, and as Rowan worshiped every inch of her with his hands, his mouth, as he claimed her body and showed her just how much he meant those words, Aelin found herself thinking that she wouldn’t mind at all if they were snowed in here at this little roadside inn, making their own warmth for a few more days.


	3. snowy date night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when I was writing this, I didn’t have anything specific in mind but it could work as a follow up to both ‘hold me, it’s cold’ or 'mistletoe/snowed inn'. So it's posted both places.
> 
> Day 13

Aelin fastened her earring as she walked over to the window in her and Rowan’s bedroom and glanced out at the snow that continued to fall without respite. In the span of time it had taken her to shower and get dressed, everything outside had turned white, the roads stretched on like smooth ribbons into the distance, unmarred by tire tracks of any kind.

Glancing out across the city from their apartment window, she saw that the rest of Orynth looked the same. No one was venturing out, not even the snowplows.

She sighed. It looked like their dinner reservation was going to have to be cancelled. There was no way they would be able to get the car out of the garage and onto the street, and even if they could, the roads were likely much too dangerous to travel. 

Aelin wandered towards the bedroom door but stopped for a moment to glance at herself in the mirror. The deep crimson dress that fell to her knees, with its long fitted sleeves and sheer back of black lace. Her golden hair had been twisted into an elegant braided bun, held in place with bejeweled hair combs. The makeup she had painstakingly done to perfection. All that hard work for nothing. 

With another sigh, she padded down the hall on bare feet, looking for boyfriend. She found Rowan in the kitchen, staring out the window. His fingers drummed nervously on the kitchen counter, mouth set in a hard line as he glowered at the grey sky above, as if he could _make_ the snow stop falling by sheer force ofwill. 

She sauntered over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his upper arm. “Looks like our fancy date night will have to be postponed,” she said lightly, trying to keep the disappointment out of her tone. They had had this reservation for months, and she had really been looking forward to it.

Rowan groaned softly, and when she looked up at him, he looked so deeply troubled by the development that she blinked. “I’m sorry, fireheart,” he grumbled, sounding disheartened. 

Aelin eyed him. Going out to eat at fancy restaurants was something Rowan wasn’t particularly fond of, so she didn’t quite understand why he was so disappointed. 

Still, she lifted a hand to his jaw and turned his face so he would look at her. “It’s fine, babe. It’s not your fault that you can’t control the weather.” And then she rose onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to his jaw, his chin, his lips. And then she smiled. “I have a better idea of something else we can do anyway.”

Rowan arched a silver brow.

~*~

They both changed out of their dinner finery and into much comfier clothing, Rowan into sweats and one of his favorite old band tees and Aelin into holiday themed thermals and knee socks, much to Rowan’s amusement. After, Aelin sent Rowan into the kitchen to call in and cancel their reservation, and to prepare some snacks and hot chocolate while she set to work on her plan.

When she was finished, she took a moment to admire her handy work before calling out to her boyfriend, “Okay, you can come back in now.”

Rowan wandered into the living room, carrying a ginormous bowl of popcorn, and stopped dead in his tracks, his green eyes widening slightly. 

She had turned off all of the lights except for the Yulemas tree, the soft light giving the room flickering, romantic glow, and to add to the effect, she had even brought out several battery-powered candles, setting them on the coffee table and fireplace mantel, and all over the floor around the nest she had made out of pillows and blankets in the space between the couch and sofa chair. More blankets were draped over the backs and arms of the furniture, effectively creating a little blanket cave. She even had a little movie marathon lined up on the tv, ready and waiting to press play on the remote.

A slow smile spread across Rowan’s handsome face as he made his way across the room to where she stood. 

“It’s no romantic dinner at a five star restaurant but…” she shrugged.

“Fireheart,” he breathed softly, voice full of awe. “It’s perfect. _You_ are perfect. You know that, right?” His face was lit up with such an adoring expression. 

She gave him a cheeky grin. “Of course I do. It’s just one of the _many_ reasons you love me.”

Rowan shook his head, smiling, as he leaned down to kiss her. Once, twice, three times. And just for good measure, he nipped the end of her nose as he pulled back, causing her to bat her hands at his face. 

“Now, buzzard… let’s have a date night!”

And so they did, curling up in Aelin’s pillow fort with hot cocoa and popcorn and chocolates to watch cheesy, holiday romcoms. It was perfect. Far better than any date at a restaurant, because it was just the two of them.

They had long since finished off the food and were now just lying back amidst the pile of pillows. Aelin curled into Rowan’s side, nestling her head in the curve of his shoulder. He had wrapped his arm around her to hold her close as they watched the latest movie in their marathon.

She was so absorbed by the sweet love confession playing out on the screen, her eyes tearing up, that she was only vaguely aware that Rowan was watching her more than the movie. Hardly noticed as he slipped a hand into the pocket of his dark green sweats to pull something out. 

And then, so softly the words were barely more than a breath, he whispered, “Marry me, fireheart.”

Aelin’s lips parted and she turned to look up at him in confusion. She was certain she had misheard him. That she only _thought_ she heard what she thought she heard because of what was going on in the movie.

But his heartbreaking pine green eyes were on her face and the look they held was so soft, so serious and full of love, that it stole her breath from her lungs. “What?” she rasped out.

“Marry me,” he repeated, his voice a low rumble, and then he sat up. Aelin moved over, turning to face him as he held a little box up between them, opening it to reveal a rectangular cut emerald set on a gold band. 

She could only gape at him, eyes widening in shock. So she hadn’t been mistaken about what she heard. And he… Her hand lifted to cover her mouth as realization dawned on her, the tears finally escaped her eyes to spill down her cheeks. “That… That’s why you were so-” Her heart was pounding so wildly that it stole the words from her. 

Rowan nodded, swallowing hard. He continued to watch her closely, gauging her reaction. He looked terrified. Silly man. Didn’t he know that he had nothing to be terrified of?

“Aelin,” he began, “I know it-”

She didn’t give him a chance to finish, or even really begin, interrupting what was sure to be a beautiful speech that would have reduced her to a sobbing mess by grabbing his face in her hands and pulling him down to claim his lips in a searing kiss. Rowan’s arms wrapped around her waist to pull her closer, mindful of the ring box still in his hand.

Aelin pulled back only far enough to murmur against his lips, “Yes." 

"Yes?” he blinked, as if he were actually surprised at her answer. As if there were any other possible answer she could give. 

She smiled against his lips and repeated, “Yes.” She kissed him again, and again, tears staining her cheeks once more. And they might have been her own, or his, or both. 

Slowly, and reluctantly, Rowan pulled away. With surprisingly steady hands, he took the ring from the box and slid it on the third finger of her left hand. And then he kissed the backs of her fingers, and then her knuckles. And then he was kissing her mouth again, whispering his love for her against her lips, breathing it into her heart and soul. 

As the night went on, Aelin couldn’t help but laugh as she thought about how this was like a real life holiday romance movie, but so, _so_ much better.

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on tumblr, @westofmoon. I post snippets there. 
> 
> I do not consent to this work being hosted on any unofficial apps or to any other websites.


End file.
